The Features of Chirimen

Chirimen (silk crepe) has been one of Japan's most distinctive textiles since times and has gained a reputation worldwide as the supreme example of Japanese costume. It is because of its distinctive quality and features, transcending the history, lacation and lacal of the people who wear this form of clothing, that chirimen has continued to highly valued over a long historical period. There is a wide range of literature on the subject of chirimen written from the standpoints of introducing the various types of material, discussing its history, and looking at the origins of the textile unions. However, most such writings are little more than fragmentary attempts to describe these matters from an empirical and publicity-oriented position. Very little serious research has ever been published in this area. In the present study I examine the features of chirimen. I began by directly interviewing kimono wholesalers, kimono stores and Western-style clothing stores on the subject of chirimen in order to establish a clear image of this fabric. I then went on to examine the subject experimentally in terms of the physical properties of the fabric in connection with the features of this image. In the study of the physical properties of the material, I selected habutae as a silk fabric to offer comparisons with chirimen. Habutae is used frequently together with chirimen in garments such as semi-formal visiting kimono (homongi), kimono in non-color fabric (ironashiji), mouming kimono (mofuku), broad-sleeved kimono (tomesode and furisode), and undergarments such ad juban.